Acupuncture News

As many as one in five Americans suffers from the pain, bloating and embarrassment caused by irritable bowel syndrome, one of the most common disorders diagnosed by doctors. But little is known about the disorder. In fact, doctors have been unable to pinpoint a specific cause, or find any cure. Increasingly, research is focusing on the effect the mind may have on gut function. Many doctors believe the link between brain and body might prove the key to effe ...

To believers, homeopathy is a natural approach to medicine, a holistic therapy that takes the entire patient into account. Homeopaths believe that like cures like -- in other words, when diluted to microscopically tiny levels in water, small quantities of substances that in bigger doses would cause symptoms can now cure them. But debate over homeopathy s effectiveness -- or lack thereof -- rages, with kinder critics calling homeopathy nothing but a placebo ...

Aromatherapy is an affordable, accessible natural path to relief for a variety of health problems, ranging from arthritis pain to nausea to drowsiness, supporters insist. But skeptics dismiss any claims that the use of essential oils from flowers, herbs and trees can promote health in any way. And both sides are unlikely to relinquish their positions anytime soon. Aromatherapy works for so many different things, it is amazing, said Kelly Holland Azzaro, a ...

Love not only makes the world go round, it may make it greener, too. Rising divorce rates mean that fewer people are living in each household, causing them to take up more space and consume more energy and water, a new study suggests. People talk about divorce hurting the children. Divorce also has an impact on the environment, said Jianguo Jack Liu, senior author of the study and the Rachel Carson chair in sustainability at Michigan State University. Nobo ...

Rinsing with a special saline nasal wash made from Atlantic seawater improves symptoms in children with colds and flu, and may prevent recurrence of these infections, a new study claims. We brush our teeth every day, however, we do not pay attention to our noses -- a potential gate for infection, said study co-author Dr. Jana Skoupa, of Pharma Projects in Prague, Czech Republic. Nasal wash should be used, based on our findings, immediately. The study seems ...

A new study finds that the high death rates from breast cancer in American Indian and Alaskan native women are linked to cultural beliefs, not barriers such as poor access to health care. The findings are significant, because breast cancer ranks second on the list of cancer-related deaths in American Indian and Alaskan native women, and these women also have the lowest five-year survival rate when compared with other ethnic groups. University of California ...

Hospice care isn t just for humans anymore, as more animal owners are making that choice for their terminally ill pets as an alternative to early euthanasia. For nearly 20 years, a handful of veterinarians has helped animals suffering from incurable diseases, such as heart and kidney failure, to die peacefully at home, not in a hospital cage. But only recently have pet owners and the veterinary profession begun to fully embrace the idea. The spike in inter ...

Practicing yoga can help ease chronic lower back pain, a new study shows. Researchers divided 90 people, aged 23 to 66, who had mild to moderate functional disability as a result of back pain into two groups. One group did 90-minute sessions of Iyengar yoga twice a week for six months. The other group continued whatever medical therapy or treatments they d been doing. At the three-month and six-month marks, a greater proportion of those who d done yoga rep ...

Margaret Park, a mother of five, isn t having her kids vaccinated against seasonal influenza or H1N1 swine flu this year. Park, a registered dietitian from Manassas Park, Va., is fighting the flu on her own terms -- by making sure that her children eat well, wash their hands frequently, get plenty of sleep and take their gummies, a multivitamin and a supplement containing vitamin C, zinc and echinacea. Although public health officials recommend seasonal fl ...

New research suggests that mind-body treatment can boost the odds that infertile women will become pregnant by in vitro fertilization -- at least after more than one cycle. Dr. Alice Domar, who specializes in mind-body therapy in Boston, assigned one group of women undergoing in vitro fertilization IVF to take part in 10 sessions of a mind-body program another group undergoing IVF did not take part. There was no difference in pregnancy rates between the tw ...

A gender gap in the ability of boys and girls to do spatial reasoning -- a divide that appears to favor boys -- can be eliminated through a specialized education program, new Israeli research suggests. The scientists focused on 100 first-graders, about half of whom were enrolled in an eight-week training program designed to show the children how to think about spatial information from a holistic point of view rather than one based on particular details, an ...

Pet owners need to be aware that natural foods aren t always the best choice for their pets, says a Kansas State University veterinarian. Natural and veggie-based pet foods are based more on market demand from owners, not because they are necessarily better for the pet, Susan Nelson, an assistant professor of clinical services, said in a university news release. She noted that dogs and cats have specific nutritional needs that may not be met by some natura ...